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Biz Buzz, April 18, 2010

After a visit to the Meadery of the Rockies, 3701 G Road in Palisade, he might say, “Mmmmmm, mead.”

Four fermented-honey beverages made by the meadery earned medals at The Mazer Cup International Awards Competition three weeks ago.

Glenn Foster, who owns Meadery of the Rockies with his wife, Natalie, said the competition in Boulder is the only one he knows about that is strictly for mead, and that adds some heft to the honors: silver medals for the Blackberry Satin and Lancelot meads, bronze medals for the Raspberry Chocolate Satin and Guinevere varieties.

The awards are nice, but they don’t serve as validation for Foster, who said, “We know that our meads are good, because we sell them and people love them.”

Of course, he will tout the awards, because, “People will see we won a medal and think, ‘Gosh, we should try that.’ “

Lands End beat about 50 other competitors earlier this month in Chicago, where 179 beer judges from 27 countries sorted 3,401 entries from 642 breweries in 44 countries, according to Kannah Creek’s head brewer, Jim Jeffryes. He said it’s the toughest competition Kannah Creek enters, so, “We’re sitting on top of the world right now.”

Mesa State College students live in dorms above it and near it. Many Grand Junction residents live nearby. And the site is centrally located in the Grand Valley on one of its busiest streets.

For Grand Junction’s second Supercuts, locating at 964 North Ave. just made a lot of sense, said Sean Taylor, who co-owns the salon with Justin Seely. It is set to open April 26 and will offer $9.95 haircuts for about a month, Taylor said. After that, a haircut will cost $14.95.

Taylor emphasized the low cost does not reflect the stylists’ abilities. Some of them, he said, “were doing $50 haircuts a year ago, six months ago.”

Taylor and Seely opened their first Supercuts in June at 2740 U.S. Highway 50, in The Shoppes on Orchard Mesa shopping center, and it’s off to a strong start, Taylor said. The two contracted with the national chain, which has more than 2,000 salons across North America, to open a third Supercuts in Grand Junction within the next year, Taylor said.

Speaking of The Shoppes on Orchard Mesa, Celestial Water Co. & Smoothie Bar moved there last week. And now that drivers can see the store from the busy highway, co-owner William Negrete has been amazed by what he is seeing: soaring sales.

“The roadside visibility has really put us on the map,” said Negrete, whose business had been obscured from drivers’ views at 2692 U.S. 50, Unit 1. “Locals here on Orchard Mesa didn’t even know (about us). We’ve been seeing record sales since we opened here Tuesday.”

New water customers are coming in, but the biggest boon for the cash register, Negrete said, has been increased smoothie sales.

James and Kiele Wilson have a new home and a new name for their fitness center, where they offer specialized, semi-private training. The former Elite Fitness Solutions at 2470 Patterson Road is now MTB Strength Training Systems and Empower Fitness at 573 S. Commercial Drive, two blocks east of 25 Road in the commercial sector behind Ute Water, 560 25 Road.

James Wilson designs training regimens specifically for mountain bikers and international clients via the Internet.